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Update: Commons reopen after police secure suspicious package

Shawn Steiner/The Ithacan

Members of the Ithaca Police Department and Fire Department stand outside The Commons at the intersection of South Aurora Street and East State Street. The Commons was evacuated Thursday, Oct. 11 due to a suspicious package.

The Ithaca Commons were reopened at 7 p.m. Thursday after a suspicious package found earlier today caused an evacuation of the area.

The package was deemed to be non-threatening by the New York State Police Bomb Disposal Unit and was secured as evidence, according to a city press release.

The Commons were evacuated Thursday afternoon after a suspicious package was discovered outside of the Bank of America building.

Police cars lined South Aurora in front of the main Commons entrance. Firetrucks and a SWAT vehicle were also present in the Commons area.The Ithaca Police Department and Fire Department are on scene and additional resources have been requested, Julie Holcomb, the city clerk, said. The Bank of America building and others in the nearby vicinity are being evacuated for safety purposes.

Rhiannon Youngbauer, a sales associate at BodyGear on The Commons, said a police officer came into the store around 3:30 p.m. and said business owners were being asked to close for a few hours.

“They told me that I should try to return in two hours,” Youngbauer said.